Gallowgate Toon

I think Isak's game is pretty flexible, he has the touch and intent to pass & move which suits trying to break down a side sitting back. Has a decent long distance strike on him too. It just requires other players to be on the same page, like pushing up when he moves out of that central space or when to show for a give-and-go.

The judgment of the success of the January window will be closer to the end of the season. There's loads of football left to play. It was the same after summer, folks going on about not having enough in attack etc. We've taken a somewhat calculated risk, yes, but way too early to say if it's a failed gamble or not.

Saw on SofaScore that he averages 6 successful passes a game this season? He can go long periods without being involved but that feels very low.

Watched some of it back and the game never seems as bad as at the time, still not great viewing obviously. I don't think it's legginess, but we seem to have switched tactics a bit with Bruno out in terms of our press aggression, maybe we're more concerned about being caught on the break. Or maybe ASM and Isak don't lead the press as well. I also felt Trippier was a lot more concerned about bombing on than usual. There were some signs of some half-decent linkup but, ultimately, it just looked like forward players who haven't played with eachother much. There were a lot of times Isak would make a dart only to be ignored etc. Bruno does things a second quicker (as well as making unexpected moves) than most and we miss that as well as his defensive dirty work.

Willock has a really annoying knack of letting parts of the game pass him by, I thought Gordon looked really up for it without being very impactful. Some nice touches and attempts to get quicker passing moves going.

Yup. I actually thought he wasn't bad on the ball etc. but that was just shit from him.

He went looking for space because they were sat back a lot. He's not a player to just stick in one spot and wait for a couple of touches.

Thought he was alright up until the final ball which was generally rubbish, goal involvement aside.

Think this is a general consequence at the lack of rotation we've seen and something Howe will need to figure out next season, imo. Feels like players were figuring eachother out in the attacking lineup. We miss Bruno when we're the dominant possession side.

Been very, very slack on the ball recently.

Needs a run of games.

Cairney is so good at this level.

They're getting ragdolled at the moment. Looks a bit like academy players vs. a first team.

Watch some of his compilations on YT, if you can be bothered , and there are rarely any great passes in there that you'd expect from a player in the mix for best in his position imo. Agree that he can progress the ball very well when dribbling into space though. Most of my experience of watching him is for England where it feels like he's not been great when we've had a lot of the ball but it feels like he comes alive when games get stretched & he mops up, but this could be tactical.

The price tag is what obfuscates the Rice conversation. He just simply isn't worth £100m. He's very good at breaking up play and largely playing simple passes but that's where it ends - I think he'd be pretty crap for us in games where we're the dominant possession side. Other DMs can do his defensive work to a good degree while being way more influential at the other end of the pitch - Neves, Casemiro, Bruno etc. He could be useful in a possession team that expects some dangerous turnovers in the opposition's third because the full backs are pushed right up.

I'm in pot 3, but my dad, who has attended all of the same cup games + is a ST holder, didn't receive an email. When I bought the Leicester ticket, we missed the pick your own seat deadline and booked elsewhere, but I didn't link him to the booking in the new seats. Spoke to the box office and they said there's nothing they can do, even though he can prove he was at the game. I get why they can't change retrospectively but it's still pretty crap. Best hope for my sake that he can get something in the ballot

Seems like a really nice bloke - iirc, he did a lot back in his home country with his money. Really hope for the best outcome for him.

There's still a lot to look forward to the rest of the season with the current squad. Isak actually being available and now fit again is really big for us, the unpredictability of what Gordon will bring. Hopefully, we can keep Maxi healthy as he can win us points. Plus, we get to watch Bruno play a couple of attacking tweaks and I think we'll go on another run as our underlying numbers are generally still so solid. We really need a plan for Isak. We can't have a player that talented just sitting on the bench as we struggle to score, especially when Wilson is seemingly bulletproof. He's the key.

I hope the players & staff aren't going around thinking 4th isn't achievable anymore with 17 games left to play

That's not necessarily an endorsement of him. Attacking play maybe flowing through him more this campaign but they're one of the lowest scorers in the league. Is he creating quality? Would be interesting to see their XG performance.

Rice seems very built to a counter attacking side, to me I think we've seen with England that when he's in a possession team he lacks range and sometimes seems to play within himself. Very energetic for when games are more stretched though. I think Bruno does the defensive side just as well while also providing excellent possession and final third characteristics.

Going to be sod's law this season that we barely see Bruno and Isak on the pitch together.

Didn't realise he was so quick. There were comments from Everton fans about him gassing out a lot - we might find he doesn't play 90 mins much until he gets a full preseason under his belt.

Start both. We aren't blessed with natural goalscorers in the squad - play the 2 that are when we can. I think it's more important to get Isak in the team over ASM.

Time to tweak the shape, imo. We've got to get Isak in the XI.